'Moonbase 8' Premiere: Showtime's comedy series shows promise compared to its counterparts 'Away', 'Space Force'
Spoilers for 'Moonbase 8', 'Away' and 'Spaceforce'
Showtime's new space series 'Moonbase 8' premiered with 'Dry' this Sunday, and while there was already a dead character in the premiere, the series seems to hold some promise. This has been the year for space-related series such as Netflix's 'Away' and 'Space Force'. While we'd like to say that they were good shows, they simply lacked in direction, with 'Away' being canceled after one season and 'Space Force' being deemed an "astonishingly bad show" by publications.
'Moonbase 8', although too quick to tell, seems to have started off on the path of dry and morbid humor starring John C. Reily as Cap, Fred Armisen as Skip and Time Heidecker as Rook. The first episode 'Dry' dove straight into a water crisis revealing team dynamics and the type of jokes we can expect in the season. It's set to have 6 half-hour episodes, which seems fit for a scripted sitcom. With comedians such as Reily and SNL alum Armisen, we're hoping the series would hold water when it comes to space comedies.
Just to put this in perspective, 'Away' was a science fiction drama created by Andrew Hinderaker, and premiered on September 4, 2020. It was quickly canceled after one season, in October 2020. While some (the few fans that it did have) claimed that it was too quick to cancel a show, 'Away' was simply dreadful to watch. The series followed American astronaut Emma Green (Hilary Swank) who preps to lead an international crew for the first mission to Mars. Her family, husband (Josh Charles), and daughter (Talitha Bateman) need her at a trying time, and so Green struggles with her decision to leave. In its what we think recycled narrative, the crew tackle being away from their family on Earth with season one ending with them landing safely on Mars. While some called it an intense season, and while we don't have to discredit the actor's delivery, the script just wasn't made for more than one season – it felt quite predictable as one would assume that astronauts miss their family. According to reports, 'Away' did earn #1 on Netflix spending week in the top 10 Nielsen streaming rankings, it simply costs too much money to take it forward - it cost about $6 million per episode.
As for 'Space Force', a series created by Greg Daniels and Stevel Carell - it was a huge disappointment. It is a workplace comedy where a group is given the task of establishing the sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces, the United States Space Force. Carell, popularly known as Michael Scott from the American hit series 'The Office' plays the role of Mark Naird, who is the first general of the Space force. With names such as Carell and Lisa Kudrow attached to the series, it was annoying that the comedy had no spark whatsoever. The release date of Season 2 is yet to be determined, but we have to say if the series ends up being canceled, we wouldn't be surprised or saddened.
So how do we think 'Moonbase 8' could fare differently?
Of course, everybody has their opinion of how comedy should be delivered, but the vast truth is that comedy remains on the spectrum – from shows like 'The Office' to Ricky Gervais' 'After Life', comedy can range from stomach-hurting laughter to morbid jokes. It's up to the audience how they receive it. While critics have already deemed 'Moonbase 8' as "silly" and "weightless", we do have to say that the plotline is a bit unique than most shows would expect. The humor isn't for everyone, but it is humor nonetheless.
We think it shows promise, and only time will tell how the audience receives it. It's a 6 episode series that bases its premise on three astronauts training on a Moon Base stimulator for their first lunar mission. Could the series tank? There's a possibility, but the first episode showed how it could also proceed moving forward - it seems to be heavily scripted, with no form of improvisation, but the character personalities and their backstories seem to be quite interesting. Also, the fact that it's only 30 minutes an episode, we don't think that's enough time for one to be bored of 'Dry' humor. It dives right into the script, doesn't seem to be redundant (as of now), and maybe "silly" is what could make it instead of break it.
'Moonbase 8' airs on Showtime on Sundays at 11 pm ET/PT.